HOW WE'RE HELPING GARDENERS DURING COVID-19:
While we can't meet you in person until the health crisis ends, our volunteers are still active and available to assist you online.
We are currently offering virtual advice clinics, presentations and workshops via Zoom. Here are just a few of the many presentations we offer:
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Houseplants: Our Constant Garden
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Landscaping with Trees and Large Shrubs
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Putting the Garden to Bed
Have a garden question? Visit our Ask a Master Gardener page.
We'll update this notice if things change. Meanwhile, stay safe, and happy gardening.
If you are planning to purchase a live Christmas tree, dig the hole now before the ground freezes. Keep the soil dug out of the hole in a place where it won’t freeze so that you can use it to back-fill the hole when you plant the tree after Christmas.
So often we are thrilled by the vivid fall colours and forget the beauty in the more subdued tones.
Rose bushes need to be protected from the freeze/thaw cycles that our winters bring us. AFTER the ground has frozen, pile a layer of peat moss, compost or shredded leaves around the bottom 20 cm of your rose bushes.
Worried about squirrels getting your tulip bulbs? Cover the planted area with chicken wire and mulch. Tulips will grow right through in the spring. Interplant with daffodils, fritillarias and alliums, which squirrels dislike. Be sure to pick up all papery bulb skins.
Hi-tech tools to manage your houseplants? Well, maybe.
These Apps Will Help You Keep All of Your New Houseplants Alive
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If you’ve started collecting houseplants this year, you’re not alone. And while it’s easy to buy plants (and stare at them fondly from your couch), it can be tough to take care of them properly ...Tie down climbing rose canes to protect them from cold winds. And if you tie the flexible rose canes in a horizontal arc along a fence or trellis, it will trigger the greater bud break leading to many more blossoms next year.
Overwintered potted perennials may get too much rain or melted snow. A thaw may not reach the drainage holes, leaving roots in water, then ice. To avoid excess water, put your pots in a covered area. Under eaves by the east or south side of your house would be ideal.
Would you like to create pollinator gardens or rain gardens in your neighbourhood or at your school? Or enhance or expand existing gardens with native pollinator-friendly plants? Check out the PollinateTO grants open for applications today!
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Applications will be accepted from November 16 to January 8, 2021. PollinateTO will provide funding for pollinator gardens located in Toronto. This year, priority will be given to projects located in ...Don't worry, there's still time to get your tulip bulbs in. This year, mark their location so that you don't accidentally disturb them in the spring. Use small stakes or markers, coloured golf tees, or paint the name of the bulb on a rock and place the rock where it's planted.
Master Gardeners of Ontario
Compost Council of Canada
Toronto Region Conservation Authority
Toronto Botanical Gardens
City of Toronto
